Hidesign

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT HIDESIGN - PAGE 4

PANAJI: Hidesign, manufacturers and distributors of premium leather bags and garments, plans to widen its global presence by joining hands with Mark Dijon of the UK, setting up exclusive stores internationally in premium places like airports. The company, which has 13 exclusive shops in major Indian metros, is entering strategic tie-ups domestically to extend its presence, says Dilip Kapur, president, Hidesign. The company, with over 2,300 employees, is launching an international retail company in Amsterdam ?

BANGALORE: Kunal R Sachdev, who was instrumental in building the Hidesign leather brand and played a key role in taking it international, has quit as CEO to set up his own venture in the retail space. Sachdev, who left Hidesign two days ago, is currently in talks with venture capitalists for raising funds to float the retail start-up with some of his like-minded past associates and old friends in the field of retail, branding and design. "I am looking at raising USD 3.5 million (from venture capitalists)"

NEW DELHI: Puducherry-based leather bags and accessories maker Hidesign on Sunday said it will launch a new collection by Italian designer Alberto Ciaschini in the next two months to mark its entry into the luxury segment. The company said it plans to add another manufacturing plant in India in the next one year to take the total number of factories to five, while also strengthening retail presence across the country. "The premium and luxury segments are the fastest growing segments in India.

The wanderlust in Dilip Kapur, president, Hidesign (designers of leather goods), always keeps him on his toes. To keep him going, his iPod plays a pivotal role. "While riding my Bullet and exercising every morning, my iPod comes very handy. I really think I cannot do without it," says Mr Kapur. There are almost 1,500 songs stored at a time on the iPod of this music lover and not so car-savvy person. He uses a BlackBerry and a Nokia phone to communicate.

It's 12.30 pm. The rendezvous has been fixed: a small café, a floor above the Hidesign store in Ambience Mall in New Delhi — we can't be seen. Dilip Kapur and I meet and exchange passwords, read pleasantries. Dressed casually in a linen shirt and loose jeans, the only thing that are a secret-mission giveaway are his sunglasses. True to his brand, the man carries a Hidesign casual leather bag. This is Hidesign's newest outlet and Kapur is keen to find out how it is doing.

MUMBAI: When 15-year old apparel brand Peter England launched soft luggage three months ago, it entered a completely alien segment. Today, the Rs 500-crore brand from Madura Lifestyle & Fashions targets more than 5% of its total sales to come from soft luggage despite selling them in less than one-fourth of its retail outlets. Peter England COO Kedar Apshankar says that besides increasing sales, the soft luggage rang will help improve profitability of its stores by making more product categories available using the same space, without any increase in rentals and salaries.

NEW DELHI: The government has exempted Indian single brand retailers from the purview of a controversial provision that restrained them from raising funds from foreign private equity funds and overseas investors. This clarification paves the way for single brand retailers such as Fabindia, Hidesign , Nalli , Gitanjali Gems , Lilliput, and Gini & Jony to access foreign funds as long as the Indian owners retain a controlling stake of more than 50%. The government had earlier allowed foreign investment in single brand retail with the condition that the foreign investor should be the owner of the brand.

BANGALORE: At home, most Indian retailers maybe trying to resist 100% foreign investment in the retail sector, but abroad many of them are on the offensive, expanding their global reach by setting up shops and through acquisitions. A host of niche India retailers including watchmaker Titan Industries, Himatsingka Wovens' fine furnishings store Atmosphere, Marico's Kaya Skin Clinic , ethnic wear firm Fab India, beauty and wellness company VLCC, coffee retailer Cafe Coffee Day and designer leather goods maker Hidesign are turning to international markets for the next leap of growth.

MUMBAI: Can you name the retail location in India from where Swarovski , Marks & , Samsonite, Hidesign and Kimaya all reported their best sales numbers last calendar? Not Khan Market or Select City Walk Mall in Delhi, not Linking Road or the Phoenix Mall in Mumbai; it's the Delhi airport. Indira Gandhi International Airport in the capital is the most lucrative retail location in the country, having generated sales of 5,000 per square feet per month in 2011, which is almost four times higher than the second-best location.

As India modernises rapidly, it is also giving rise to numerous startups serving as a link between lucrative markets and artisans preserving traditional crafts. And almost invariably they are borrowing from a model first introduced by Fabindia which, over more than 50 years, has refined the art of sourcing from craftsmen: middlemen are a strict no-no and artisans receive a share of the profits. Artisans form the backbone of India's rural economy, and the handicraft industry is the second-largest employment generator in villages after agriculture.